 Early Times Report
Gyirong (Tibet-Nepal border), Sept 6: One of the most haunting reminders of the August 26 flash floods that devastated the Tibet-Nepal border is a video showing a massive wall of mud, rocks and debris engulfing a well-built immigration post in seconds.
The dramatic footage, which went viral worldwide, offered a chilling glimpse of nature's fury and the devastating impact it can have on buildings and human lives.
Until now, the full extent of the destruction had largely been seen from the Nepalese side of the border. In Nepal, the death toll has crossed 1,300, while around 5,000 remain missing
The disaster was triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, sending a massive surge of water and debris downstream through the Bhotekoshi River and devastating settlements in northern and central Nepal.
China on Sunday, for the first time, opened up its devastated Gyirong County in Tibet – the site of the destroyed border immigration post – to PTI and select foreign media to show the destruction caused by the flash floods and the massive relief and reconstruction work underway.
China has been working to reconstruct roads to restore access to the cut-off border post and has sent relief materials to Nepal
According to officials' figures on the Chinese side, 31 people were killed and 531 others remain missing in Tibet. These include 261 missing foreigners, including 49 from India and 22 from other countries.
Most of the dead and missing foreigners were unlucky enough to be on both sides of the ill-fated immigration building when it was devoured by the floods.
China said, together with Nepal, it was officially determined that the August 26 disaster was caused by the collapse of a high-altitude glacier in Nepal.
"We noted that experts and official institutions of China and Nepal have made a preliminary assessment of the cause of the disaster," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing in Beijing on August 28. |